Vectors and the Geometry of Space
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Surfaces in Space
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Objectives
 Recognize and write equations of cylindrical surfaces.
 Recognize and write equations of quadric surfaces.
 Recognize and write equations of surfaces of revolution.
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Cylindrical Surfaces
4
Cylindrical Surfaces
You have already studied two special types of surfaces.
A third type of surface in space is called a cylindrical
surface, or simply a cylinder.
5
Cylindrical Surfaces
To define a cylinder, consider the familiar
right circular cylinder shown in Figure 11.56.
The cylinder was generated by a
vertical line moving around the
circle x2 + y2 = a2 in the
xy-plane.
Figure 11.56
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Cylindrical Surfaces
This circle is called a generating curve for the cylinder, as
indicated in the following definition.
7
Cylindrical Surfaces
Without loss of generality, you can assume that C lies in one
of the three coordinate planes. Moreover, the textbook
restricts the discussion to right cylinders– cylinders whose
rulings are perpendicular to the coordinate plane containing
C, as shown in Figure 11.57.
Note that the rulings
intersect C and are parallel
to the line L.
Figure 11.57
8
Cylindrical Surfaces
For the right circular cylinder shown in Figure 11.56, the
equation of the generating curve is
x2 + y2 = a2.
Equation of generating curve in xy- plane
To find an equation of the cylinder, note that you can generate
any one of the rulings by fixing the values of x and y and then
allowing z to take on all real values. In this sense, the value of
z is arbitrary and is, therefore, not included in the equation.
In other words, the equation of this cylinder is simply the
equation of its generating curve.
x2 + y2 = a2
Equation of cylinder in space
9
Cylindrical Surfaces
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Example 1 – Sketching a Cylinder
Sketch the surface represented by each equation.
a. z = y2
b. z = sin x, 0 ≤ x ≤ 2π
Solution:
a. The graph is a cylinder whose generating
curve, z = y2, is a parabola in the yz-plane.
The rulings of the cylinder are parallel to
the x-axis, as shown in Figure11.58(a).
Figure 11.58(a)
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Example 1 – Solution
cont’d
b. The graph is a cylinder generated by the sine curve in
the xz-plane.
The rulings are parallel to the y-axis, as shown in
Figure 11.58(b).
Figure 11.58(b)
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Quadric Surfaces
13
Quadric Surfaces
The fourth basic type of surface in space is a quadric
surface. Quadric surfaces are the three-dimensional
analogs of conic sections.
14
Quadric Surfaces
The intersection of a surface with a plane is called the
trace of the surface in the plane. To visualize a surface in
space, it is helpful to determine its traces in some wellchosen planes.
The traces of quadric surfaces are conics. These traces,
together with the standard form of the equation of each
quadric surface, are shown in the following table.
15
Quadric Surfaces
16
Quadric Surfaces
cont’d
17
Quadric Surfaces
cont’d
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Example 2 – Sketching a Quadric Surface
Classify and sketch the surface given by
4x2 – 3y2 + 12z2 + 12 = 0.
Solution:
Begin by writing the equation in standard form.
You can conclude that the surface is a hyperboloid of two
sheets with the y-axis as its axis.
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Example 2 – Solution
cont’d
To sketch the graph of this surface, it helps to find the
traces in the coordinate planes.
20
Example 2 – Solution
cont’d
The graph is shown in Figure 11.59.
Figure 11.59
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Surfaces of Revolution
22
Surfaces of Revolution
The fifth special type of surface you will study is called a
surface of revolution.
You will now look at a procedure for finding its equation.
Consider the graph of the radius function
y = r(z)
Generating curve
in the yz-plane.
23
Surfaces of Revolution
If this graph is revolved about the z-axis, it forms a surface
of revolution, as shown in Figure 11.62.
The trace of the surface in the plane z = z0 is a circle
whose radius is r(z0) and whose equation is
x2 + y2 = [r(z0)]2.
Circular trace in plane: z = z0
Replacing z0 with z produces an equation
that is valid for all values of z.
Figure 11.62
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Surfaces of Revolution
In a similar manner, you can obtain equations for surfaces
of revolution for the other two axes, and the results are
summarized as follows.
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Example 5 – Finding an Equation for a Surface of Revolution
Find an equation for the surface of revolution formed by
revolving (a) the graph of y = 1 / z and (b) the graph of
9x2 = y3 about the y-axis.
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Example 5 (a) – Solution
a. An equation for the surface of revolution formed by
revolving the graph of
about the z-axis is
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Example 5 (b) – Solution
cont’d
b. To find an equation for the surface formed by revolving
the graph of 9x2 = y3 about the y-axis, solve for x in
terms of y to obtain
So, the equation for this surface is
The graph is shown in Figure 11.63.
Figure 11.63
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